Senior Social Worker

Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000), and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Responsibilities VA Careers

• Social Work: Total-Rewards of an Allied-Health VA-Career
• Social Work: The position is that of a Senior Social Worker for the Trauma Recovery PTSD Intensive Outpatient Program at the Menlo Park Division of VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

The incumbent works primarily in the PTSD Intensive Outpatient Program (lOP), but also provides coverage in the men's and women's residential Trauma Recovery Programs (TRP).

The incumbent is able to make complex and independent clinical judgments as demonstrated by at least two years of specialized social work practice and is responsible to the Supervisory Social Worker of the Trauma Recovery Programs.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:
Screening/Assessment

• The incumbent independently performs assessment of patients for psychosocial needs.

The Social Worker will develop an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others. Diagnosis

• Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within the approved scope of practice.

Treatment/Interventions

• Incumbent has the knowledge and ability to provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions used in the treatment of veterans with specialized problems such as major mental illnesses, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder, addictions, and other serious disorders within their scope of practice.

Crisis Intervention

• In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, staff will follow the protocol of the program at this VA facility.

Supportive counseling

• The social worker will provide the veterans and their caregivers with ongoing supportive counseling.

Other Duties as assigned.

Work Schedule:
The schedule is to be determined by the Supervisor

Compressed/Flexible:
This may be authorized at Supervisory discretion

EDRP Authorized:
Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply for incentives. Contact .GOV, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more Pay:
Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Paid Time Off:
37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience

Parental

Leave:
After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child

Child Care Subsidy:
After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $ Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework:
This may be authorized at Supervisory discretion

Virtual:
This is not a virtual position

Functional Statement #:

F Financial Disclosure Report:
Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP)

• See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

United States Citizenship:
Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy

Education:
Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)

Licensure:

Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.

Failure to Obtain License or Certification:

In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment.

Loss of Licensure or Certification:

Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice.

Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty.

Licensure/Certification:

Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations.

This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.

Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.

Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.

Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

Assignments:

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level.

Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to:

Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity.

The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns.

Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics.

The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality.

The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff.

They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services.

This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management.

This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

References:
VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements:
See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services

Education IMPORTANT:
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education

Note:
Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment.

You can verify your education here:
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education

For further information, visit:
Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation)

Leave:

Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee.

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply.

The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive , VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy).

VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations.

If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date.

The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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